April Sees a Spike in Denver’s Inventory of Homes

May 9, 2018

+Mara Calomino

Comments Closed

Often, when taking the pulse of the housing market, we look at the average sales price of a home, the number of homes that have sold, and the active inventory. These are all important metrics when determining the health of the market. Indeed, in April, the average price of a single-family home sold in the Denver metro area soared to a never seen-before record of $543,068, according to a report by the Denver Metro Association of Realtors.

One of the most promising measures of market strength was not the record home price, but the number of homes placed under contract. According to DMAR, 6,097 single-family homes, condominiums, and townhomes were placed under contract last month. That was the best April for under contracts since 2013, when 8,223 homes were placed under contract. Last month was the first April since 2014 that more than 6,000 homes were placed under contract.

One of the best indicator of the sales activity in any given month is how many homes go under contract. Sales, by contrast, measure the number of homes that were placed under contract in previous months. There were 4,384 total sales last month, almost a 9% drop from April 2017. Of course, a certain number of homes placed under will not close. But in Denver, where there is only a 1.24-month supply of unsold single-family homes, some buyers are often able to purchase a home that did not close under its initial deal.

Buyers also had more homes to choose from in April than in March. 6,917 new listings hit the market in April, a 9.12% increase from a year earlier and almost a 5% increase from March. Homes also sold much faster in April than in March. Buyers, on average, snapped up listings after they were on the market for a mere 20 days in April 23% faster than the sales pace in March.

Sellers also did a good job of listing their homes at the appropriate price. The average closing price for a single-family home was slightly above the average listing price, according to DMAR. Overall, homes closed at just under 1% over the listing price. The mix of homes sold likely helped drive up the average price of single-family homes in April.

Once again, the luxury market of homes priced at $1 million or more was the best-performing price strata. A total of 196 luxury single-family homes and condominiums traded hands last month. Which was the best April on record for luxury home sales. Luxury home sales were up 33.33% from a year earlier. Luxury single-family home sales led the way, with 184 homes closing, a record for an April. That was a whopping 40.46% more than a year earlier. Total sales volume of luxury single-family homes rose to $281.6 million, soaring 41.13% from April 2017.

Mara Calomino

You may also like:

Denver, the most expensive housing market between the two coasts, hit an important milestone in February. For the first time ever, the average sold price of a single-family, detached home topped $500,000, at a record breaking $502,986. The year-over-year appreciation was up 11.78% from February...

Every market has a season. The Denver housing market is no different. In August, home sales in the Denver area showed a typical seasonal slowdown. With a market as hot as Denver, any cooling can seem like a bigger deal than it is. There were 5,324 single-family and condo/townhome sales in August, a 5.8%...